Doctor Who: 10 Clever Moments Of Foreshadowing You Probably Missed

6. Smoke Of The Raven

Doctor Who David Tennant Tenth Doctor Midnight/The End Of Time
BBC

The Twelfth Doctor's adventure with Ashildr in The Woman Who Lived basically consisted of these two immortals discussing why eternal life sucks. Well, to be fair, it's Ashildr who does the bulk of the complaining, constantly reminding the Doctor that all the mortals around them will eventually die. How cheery.

In describing the inevitable loneliness that faces them both, Ashildr tells the Doctor that the people around him - drawing specific attention to Clara - will "blow away like smoke", which sounds like an unusually particular way to describe someone's passing.

And that's because it is.

Flash-forward a few episodes to Face The Raven, and Clara has reached the end of her life at the claws of the titular bird. When it strikes her, she lets out an enormous scream of pain, and what pours out of her mouth a few seconds later? That's right - a cascade of thick, black smoke, almost like her life force is leaving her body.

Doctor Who Face The Raven Clara Oswald death
BBC

It's not an easy clue to pick up on in the moment, but Ashildr's description of mortality beautifully foreshadows Clara's heartbreaking demise.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.